"we have an obligation to listen"

Interesting NY Times Op-Ed that I think is a really important thing to be reminded of every once and a while. It can be really dulling to listen to or read the news because it seems that all you hear about are numbers of deaths and mass atrocities and nuclear testing on top of all that chaos that is your daily life. Or is at least my daily life.

In any case, I definitely know that feeling of giving up on changing the world. Gandhi says to "be the change you wish to see in the world" but there are definitely days when I feel like being that change is impossible. No one's listening anymore. It seems like all this change is just being thrown against a brick wall that's not going anywhere. But all of these issues and scary news events involve real people with real stories and lives and problems. Where has all the empathy gone? Where has all the motivation and action gone? I mean why are we criticizing Sotomayer because she has empathy. When did it become a bad thing? Even if we are talking about the Supreme Court, we're still dealing with people. Not automated answering machines and banking systems.

Men in Power?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-u-of-c-mens-groupmay19,0,4707353.story?page=1

If you read this, it's a little ridiculous. Ok, lies. In my opinion, it's a lot ridiculous. Do people really believe that the world needs to be more focused on men? As if it's not focused enough. I'm not saying that reverse sexism doesn't exist, it does, but that's not their main argument for why this student group "Men in Power" should exist. There's a reason why more money is devoted to women's issues - because they are farther behind - who's been able to vote for longer? who do we study in history class? who heads most companies? You just can't tell me that the answer to these questions is women. If you want to learn about people in power, why limit it to just men? Feminists aren't telling you to only study the women in power. We're just suggesting that you take into consideration the fact that there is a gender disparity in CEOs and the like. The founder writes that he "hopes Men in Power will help more men get ahead while raising awareness of the male experience." Really? Really? Let's talk about making the world more equal. Men and women together, no more of this separation nonsense.

take back the night.

so last wednesday night my college's rape and sexual assault network (RASAN) put on the event take back the night which is a march and protest aimed at bringing greater awareness on rape and sexual assault and creates a safe space for victims and friends of victims to tell their story. i'm really grateful that this college even has a sexual assault and rape hotline because even though thankfully i've never had to use it, it's nice knowing that it's there because even within this bubble of college, rape happens. it happens to and it has happened to members of this campus and knowing that there are people to talk to is something that not many other colleges offer (or at least not to the extent that they should).

it's a powerful thing to walk in a group of people, holding a candle, in complete silence. the thoughts that run through your mind are completely unpredictable but more profound that you could ever imagine.

i was struck by the stories told. both by one brave individual who had been raped over the summer and by numerous others who spoke at the open mic portion. i think it's really important to put a face to the stories. i only wish that people could "take back" more than just this one night. it's such a big issue, it affects so many people, and yet it's still not treated the same way that numerous other equally serious crimes are because there is such a big stigma against it, about consent, about what to do when it happens within a relationship. starting the dialogue, learning how to talk about it. those are important first steps that i'm glad to be able to undertake.

that this happens. that people pretend it doesn't.
it makes me furious.